TtiNNELS 


under the 


PAGING 



©CU513014 



* 24-6 /f/5 


I dedicate this pamphlet 

To those in this country, who have been so 
friendly since I came to this country with 
my family, April, 1917, and who have not 
only made us forget that we are in the 
strange land, but made us feel quite at home 
in living in this country. 

Also to those in my hpmeland, who 
always pray for us, and are earnestly wait¬ 
ing any news from me, to whom, against my 
wish, I am likely to neglect to write, about 
whom I am always thinking, and for whom 
I have never forgotten to pray. 

Not least, but last, I thank Miss Lane, of 
Franklin School, Englewood, for her kind 
advice and corrections on my English, and 
also Dr. Sailer, of the Teachers College, 
Columbia University, for his valuable sug¬ 
gestions in my first daring plan of writing 
this pamphlet in a foreign language. 

HISAAKIRA, KANO. 

Englewood, N. J., 


December 8, 1918. 


Copyright, 1919, H. Kano, New York 


v 


JAN 24 1919 


TUNNELS UNDER THE PACIFIC 


I. INTRODUCTION 

II. AMERICAN SIGHTSEERS 

III. AMERICAN MISSIONARIES 

IV. JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS 

V. JAPANESE BUSINESS MEN AND 
STUDENTS 


VI. CONCLUSION 







TUNNELS UNDER THE PACIFIC 

CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION 

Blood is thicker than water, but under¬ 
standing is thicker than blood. 

There is little intimacy even between na¬ 
tions of the same stock unless understanding 
exists among them. Intimacy between dif¬ 
ferent nationalities is impossible until they 
understand one another. 

Tunnels under the Pacific Ocean; a tun¬ 
nel of thought to connect the United States 
of America with Japan is vital to maintain 
peaceful and friendly relations between the 
two countries. At no time in past history 
have these countries needed to be more 
friendly than at present when the ocean 
between them is apt to be widened. 

It has been said that a treacherous Ger¬ 
man plot was made to separate us or at least 
to make us less and less intimate. No doubt 
some Germans planned to separate us, yet 
many intelligent and clear-sighted people of 
both countries know that the United States 
and Japan are too far apart in their ideas to 
be understood by each other, even though 
there were no Germans. 

In spite of the fact that among the 20,000 
visitors to Japan each year from foreign 
countries, 5,000 are Americans; in spite of 
the fact that 400 American missionaries of 
various Christian denominations are staying 
in Japan among 800 foreign missionaries in 
that land; and on the other hand, in spite of 
the fact that Japanese immigrants on the 
Pacific Coast of the United States of Amer¬ 
ica and the Sandwich Islands number over 
180,000, which are 25 per cent, of the Japan¬ 
ese people who are abroad, and in spite of 
the fact that 700 young Japanese students 
and business men are on the East Coast: 
there is less understanding between the 
United .States of America and Japan, while 
more understanding exists between the Eu¬ 
ropean countries and Japan although less 
people communicate. 


5 


Number and quantity are not always com¬ 
mensurate with the quality. 

Let me explain why, in each of these cases, 
one nationality does not help the other to a 
deeper understanding, and how they will be 
better able to contribute in constructing the 
tunnel. 

Economically, neither Japan nor the United 
States of America can easily do without the 
help of the other; for example, even the 
office girls and the factory girls in this coun¬ 
try wear the Shinshu or Joshu silk, and the 
Japanese farmers in most retired localities 
wear the Sea Island cotton. 

Moreover, to keep the Pacific Ocean eter¬ 
nally safe is the right as well as obligation 
of both countries from the standpoint of 
humanity. 

For this noble purpose, let me propose 
some constructive suggestions, and -make 
several criticisms on the above four elements 
so that they may improve their attitude or 
wavs and help to make the tunnel under the 
Pacific a great success. 


CHAPTER II 
AMERICAN SIGHTSEERS 

I appreciate the American sightseers who 
always expatiate on the beauty of the Japan¬ 
ese scenery. 

To speak the truth, the more I love Japan, 
the more I am dissatisfied with the present 
conditions of Japan. Almost all social, po¬ 
litical and economic conditions should be 
reformed. Therefore I feel rather thankful 
when I hear from those who return from 
Japan of the good impressions of the Japan¬ 
ese scenery—the only thing in Japan which 
I desire to be preserved without alteration. 

But, at the same time, I cannot help feel¬ 
ing somewhat lonely and friendless to hear 
them say, “Oh, Japan is a beautiful coun¬ 
try!” or “Japanese scenery is really wonder¬ 
ful!” and have no other impressions. They 
can tell about Mt. Fuji, Niklco shrine, Ha- 
kone, and Kamakura. They stayed mostly 


6 



in European style hotels where English is 
spoken. They traveled by trains and auto¬ 
mobiles as quickly as possible. It is next to 
impossible to hear from them anything about 
the intellectual or spiritual side of Japan. 
They have seen the Buddhist temples built 
several centuries ago. They admired the 
big bronze Buddha erected when Buddhism 
was in full bloom ten centuries ago; but 
they have not observed the spiritual ten¬ 
dencies of the young Japanese people at 
present and how Christian ideas have ex¬ 
isted in Japan before Christianity was intro¬ 
duced there. 

Very few of the visitors to Japan can read 
our newspapers and periodicals, and fewer 
still can open the treasure house of our 
voluminous literature, saved and developed 
during the past sixteen centuries. They do 
not even attend the Japanese Christian 
churches, which are slowly but steadily 
developing. How can they understand the 
real Japan and Japanese? 

They go simply to enjoy the flowery 
country, to devote themselves to the beau¬ 
tiful scenery and to the places of interest. 
I know it is impossible to hope that every 
American visitor or resident in Japan be 
like Dr. E. S. Morse, who is the only expert 
for the Japanese pottery in the world, and 
who has learned the Japanese people in sur¬ 
prising thoroughness and accuracy during 
his stay in Japan of half a dozen years. 

A little superficial knowledge does some¬ 
times more harm than complete ignorance. 

In nty visit to the places of historical in¬ 
terest in the New England States,-I was 
not only interested in the Pilgrims’ landing 
place, Emerson’s study, Bunker Hill, and 
the witch house, but also learned much 
about Japanese arts at the Museum of Fine 
Arts, Boston, and the progress of the Jap¬ 
anese civilization by the valuable and sys¬ 
tematic collections of the Essex Institute, 
Salem. It came to my mind that it would 
be a great help for our people if we had an 
American museum in Japan to introduce 
American history and America of to-day. 


The American sightseers will, without 
doubt, be better prepared for their trips if 
they will visit those two museums. 

I also recommend the following books to 
those who are interested in knowing about 
Japan: 

1. Dr. E. S. Morse: Japanese Homes and 

Their Surroundings. Boston. 

2. Mrs. Basil Taylor: Japanese Gardens. 

With pictures of Walter Tyndale. New 
York. 

3. J. I. C. Clarke: Japan at First Hand. 

New York. 

4. Kanzo Uchimura: Representative Men 

of Japan. Tokyo. 

5. Kenzo Wadagaki: Stray Leaves. Tokyo. 
No. 1 gives full explanation of Japanese life. 
No. 2 explains some idea of Japanese 

gardens. 

No. 3 gives recent and correct information 
about all sides of Japan and her 
people. 

No. 4 illustrates Saigo Takamori, as a 
founder of modern Japan; Uesugi 
Yozan, as an ideal feudal lord; Nino- 
miya Sontok, as a peasant saint; 
Nakae Toju, as a village teacher; 
Saint Nichiren, a Buddhist priest. 

No. 5 is helpful in giving some idea of 
Oriental literature. 


CHAPTER III 
AMERICAN MISSIONARIES 

Many good friends of Japan can be found 
among the American missionaries to Japan. 

No one can deny the great contributions 
in introducing the Western culture to Japan 
by those American friends: like Mr. Clark, 
who taught Bible as well as the science at 
the Sapporo Agricultural College at the be¬ 
ginning of Meiji era; or like Mr. Hepburn, 
who first made the English-Japanese and 
Japanese-English dictionary, and introduced 
so-called Hepburn’s “romaji” to the Japan¬ 
ese language, which method of spelling we 
are at present using with great convenience; 


8 



or like Dr. Peeke, who preached not only by 
words, but mostly by showing what a real 
Christian home is. 

All Japanese, Christian or non-Christian, 
appreciate the introducing of Japan’s good 
characteristics to this country and in vindi¬ 
cating Japan’s position. This has been done 
by Dr. Reischauer in his study of Buddhism 
in Japan; by Bishop Harris, Dr. Teusler, 
and Dr. Gulick, all of whom have helped 
in promoting American-Japanese under¬ 
standing. 

When we think of so many missionaries 
who endured the privations and hatred in 
the friendless heathen land, we cannot help 
feeling the greatness of God’s love. With¬ 
out the love of Christ, such sacrifice is im¬ 
possible. 

We Japanese could but feel thankful to¬ 
ward those sincere friends of Japan. I give 
my prayer daily to my country, but often 
feel quite pessimistic for her future. 

We have many good friends of Japan 
among missionaries, but the majority of 
Japanese people have little good feeling to¬ 
ward them. 

Let me give five reasons: 

1. Jesuit priests were sent from Portugal 
450 years ago. Their object was understood 
later by the feudal lords to be the aggression 
of the territory. The Buddhists joined the 
opposition movement and caused the serious 
religious civil war at Shimabara. The feel¬ 
ing of terror and prejudice exists toward 
Christianity till now. The traditional “Ki- 
ristan bateren” which means Christian father 
in Jesuit, are still words of contempt and 
fright. 

There are many who dislike Christianity 
traditionally mixing up Jesuit and Protes¬ 
tant. If we wear colored glasses, every¬ 
thing in the world is tinted alike. With the 
glass colored with prejudice and disgust, 
the missionaries to Japan often have to stand 
under illogical and mistaken criticism. 
Their faults are exaggerated. 

2. Century after century, Japanese people 
have thought about religion more seriously 


9 


than American! Not only that, asceticism 
has been believed to be the important step 
to become Buddhist preachers, and enjoy¬ 
ment, however innocent, has been believed 
to be a thing which should not be indulged 
in by religious workers. 

Most American missionaries believe it 
necessary as well as right to perform their 
divine work preserving their natural life as 
long and as enjoyably as possible. 

It is a matter of principle. We cannot 
tell which is right or which is wrong. But 
these differences of opinion towards religi¬ 
ous training often cause misunderstandings. 
One of the things American missionaries 
unconsciously do to cause misunderstanding 
among the common Japanese people is to 
take a long summer vacation. It seems lux¬ 
urious to them that almost all American 
missionaries spend several Summer months 
at Karuizawa, one of the best Summer re¬ 
sorts, while few Japanese Christian preach¬ 
ers, French and Russian Catholic ministers 
take such vacation, though I think some va¬ 
cation is necessary for recreation for those 
who occupy themselves in religious works. 
Most spiritual workers (Christians as well 
as Buddhists) in Japan are doing their best 
in spreading their doctrine in summer, when 
all schools close and students have more 
time to think about religion. To the Jap¬ 
anese people, whether Christians or non- 
Christians, these questions arise : “Are they 
not sent to spread the Gospel ?” “Are they 
not preaching to us that we all must give up 
all worldly desires, so as to have eternal 
peace in another world ?” “Contrary to their 
preaching, are they not seeking their own 
enjoyment?” “Have they not come to Japan 
for sightseeing, using the money of the 
missions?” 

I know an American lady missionary who 
determined to live alone in the Southern 
Kyushu until she dies. She wept in telling 
me that many American missionaries prefer 
to live near big cities so that they have more 
chance to be in company with their friends. 


10 


I once made the above criticism to an 
American friend who answered me laugh¬ 
ingly that such thinking was the old faith; 
modern Christianity is faith as well as en¬ 
joyment. I would rather be an old believer 
than a new believer, for I have more peace 
in my mind than that American friend. 

The work of the Salvation Army in Japan 
is developing with rapid strides because they 
are more in sympathy with the Japanese 
people than missionaries, solely because 
they are more self-sacrificing and self¬ 
devoting. 

The Japanese people call the degenerated 
and worldly religious workers “Namagusa 
bohzu,” which means fishy bonze. The 
Buddhist priests were vegetarians from a 
philo-biological point of view. Since they 
began to degenerate, they started eating 
fish secretly and people ironically and de- 
spisedly call such degenerated priests in 
that way. This shows that the Japanese 
people, though they are becoming more 
worldly and more materialistic, are like an¬ 
cient Pharisees, very clever in criticizing 
others, especially in metaphysical matters. 
They do not pay any respect to the preach¬ 
ers of any religion if they think that the 
preachers’ conduct is different (however lit¬ 
tle) from that which they preach. 

3. Many hypocrites are found among the 
so-called Christians in Japan. I sometimes 
feel more in the midst of ravening wolves 
when with Japanese so-called Christians 
than when I am with non-Christian people. 
Oftentimes more reliable men are found 
among the non-Christian people than among 
the Christians. I have not yet investigated 
the reasons why. Some missionaries may 
be able to tell. The hatred toward such 
hypocritical Christians is a great hindrance 
to the mission work in Japan. 

4. The increase of the members of the 
chufch and of the Sunday-school children 
is counted of more importance than their 
quality by most American missionaries. To 
me it looks as a failure. Religion is a matter 
of quality, not of number or formality. To 


11 


make one good Christian is more effective, 
though hard, for propagation than to put 
many heads together for religious talk. One 
good believer is a real “mustard seed.” 

This attitude of the missionaries of think¬ 
ing the number more than quality dissatis¬ 
fies the many thoughtful Japanese. 

5. Some American missionaries reported 
to America in an exaggerated manner ac¬ 
count of the dark side of the Japanese peo¬ 
ple regarding their immorality and defect 
in their mode of living and their customs. 
Some of them quoted that all men of Japan 
go to the licensed quarters; or all women 
are treated like slaves; or polygamy is the 
common custom; or lack of the sewerage 
system in the Japanese cities makes them 
so unsanitary that they are not fit to live in. 
In that way they wanted to impress their 
people and the mission of the necessity of 
their work among the heathen, just as the 
Liberty Bond committee quoted the cruelty 
of the Germans, and the need of American 
aid to the Allies. Their motives are per¬ 
fectly right. But Japanese people cannot 
help feeling displeased and indignant when 
their faults are pictured greater than they 
actually are. 

However, the changeless kind conduct 
toward the people of Japan, happy and con¬ 
tented sweet homes of the missionaries 
these forty years, together with the strenu¬ 
ous continuity of their propagation, are win¬ 
ning the good faith of the Japanese people. 
The Japanese people, however hardened 
they are, begin to understand Christianity, 
begin to distinguish the quality of the 
preachers, begin to be able to know there 
are real followers of Jesus Christ, and nom¬ 
inal or hypocritical believers among the so- 
called Christians. Christmas is becoming 
popular in Japan year by year. 

If American missionaries had studied 
Japan and Japanese more thoroughly, they 
would. have been able to preach more 
effectively. 

I have met no American missionaries in 
Japan who live just like Japanese people, 


12 


although most Belgian missionaries in East 
Mongolia, and some German missionaries 
in North China live as the Chinese do. I 
think it is necessary for the American mis¬ 
sionaries to live just like Japanese at least 
one or two years, not because it is directly 
effective for propagating, but because it is 
a great help to understand Japanese people. 

Since I came to this country, I am trying 
to live just like the people of this country. 
My wife has never cooked Japanese food. 
We have been doing according to every cus¬ 
tom of this country. We are trying to 
associate with as many kinds of Americans 
as possible and with as little Japanese as 
possible. My one and a half years experi¬ 
ence proves that I have learned much more 
about the people of this country than some 
Japanese friends who live in a different way. 

Most American missionaries in Japan 
speak the Japanese language v.ery well, but 
they are not such good scholars of the Jap¬ 
anese language and literature as some Rus¬ 
sian and French Catholic missionaries; for 
example, the Rev. Raguet. 

Our people have had a moral and religious 
training for sixteen centuries under the lead¬ 
ership of Buddhist preachers and the teach¬ 
ers of Confucianism. Most of them were 
great scholars of deep insight and literary 
attainments. Even now we pay little re¬ 
spect to Christian missionaries unless they 
are great scholars and men of lofty char¬ 
acter. 

The books of Carlyle, Ruskin, Emerson, 
Shakespeare, Goethe, Schiller, Tolstoi—all 
old and contemporary writers in Europe and 
the United States—as well as Chinese and 
Indian books, are loved and read by most 
Japanese students, in their original language 
or in the several kinds of Japanese transla¬ 
tions. They investigate these books with 
much zeal and thoroughness and try to 
grasp the highest meaning in them. 

Christian preachers in Japan should have 
the same resolution and purpose and experi¬ 
ence the same difficulties as the Christian 
Apostles in Greece, when Stoics and Epi- 


13 


curians were watching* and criticising* them 
at an early period of the Christian Era. 

To be a Christian in Japan has a different 
meaning than to be the same in this country. 
Christians, whether Japanese or foreigners, 
must stand under the same criticism of the 
non-Christian people. Three hundred thou¬ 
sand Japanese Christians (about 100,000 are 
Protestants) speak and act as the Christian 
fighters among 65,000,000 heathen country¬ 
men. All Japanese Christians experience at 
least once in their lives the words of Christ 
in Matthew, x, 34-37. 

The missionaries have little chance to be 
in touch with the most refined and intellec¬ 
tual circle in Japan and hence fail to inform 
Americans that Japanese people have had 
some spiritual training similar to Christian¬ 
ity for generations. We Japanese have been 
taught generation after generation at least 
eighty per cent, of what the Testament 
teaches. Japan has its own ethical and. spir¬ 
itual ideas equal to. Christian nations. I 
firmly believe that Christianity is the only 
religion which can save modern Japanese 
people. But Christianity must stand upon 
the old Japanese spiritual foundation and 
not attempt to supplant it. 

The missionaries to foreign countries 
should make a study of the inner history of 
the people, for Christianity should stand on 
the spiritual ideas of each nationality and 
to some extent it can be transformed in dif¬ 
ferent countries, just as we notice the points 
of difference between England and America, 
even in the same Episcopal churches. I 
know many verses in the New Testament 
which we Japanese Christians can better un¬ 
derstand and are endeavoring more to apply 
to our home life than mai^ so-called Amer¬ 
ican Christians. I wonder whether most 
American missionaries have noticed it. 

The Bible is indeed the Book of all hu¬ 
manity. It should not be monopolized by 
one nationality or one race. It is so pro¬ 
found. 

Moreover, two important phases of mis¬ 
sionary work in less civilized countries— 


14 


schools and hospitals—are not so pressingly 
needed in Japan as in China, Persia, India, 
Arabia or other uncivilized countries, if their 
object is merely to help intellectual develop¬ 
ment and to cure physical ailments. 

All Japanese children above six years of 
age are by law compelled to go to school. 
There were only 1.8 per cent, above six years 
of age uneducated in Japan in 1916, while in 
the United States 7.7 per cent, above ten 
years were uneducated in 1910, and in Great 
Britain 1 per cent, in 1904. 

I once met one of the professors of Colum¬ 
bia University after his trip to Japan. He 
regretted that this country could not send 
the students to the Imperial University of 
Tokyo, being hindered by the difficulties of 
the language and the letters. It is true that 
we have to commit to memory more than 
two thousand five hundred Chinese charac¬ 
ters, fifty Japanese “Kana” and “Hirakana” 
letters instead of twenty-six Roman char¬ 
acters, which is a very difficult thing. But 
when I was in the College of Law of the 
Tokyo Imperial University, I saw a Russian 
student in the College of Literature studying 
the Japanese literature of the middle ages, 
who spoke and read as fluently or rather 
more accurately than the Japanese student. 
Is there no way when there is a will? 

American people are as ignorant about the 
things outside of their own country as Jap¬ 
anese people; for example, some American 
people wonder whether there are any schools 
in Japan, and most Japanese believe that 
almost all Americans are highly educated 
and refined as the American Ambassador. 
I do not discuss here whether it is beneficial 
to send American students to Tokyo or not, 
but I can say that there are several universi¬ 
ties in Japan as high as, or in some respects 
higher than Harvard, Yale, Chicago and Co¬ 
lumbia in their academic work, but there are 
no universities in Japan which give the. stu¬ 
dents culture and character like Cambridge, 
Oxford or Princeton. This lack of culture will, 
some time, do harm to Japan just as German 
“Kultur” is doing harm to its own country 
as well as to the world. 

15 


What is lacking in the educational world 
in Japan at present is high education for 
women. The highest woman's schools are 
the higher Normal Schools at Tokio and 
Nara, but these are not as high as Smith, 
Vassar or Bryn Mawr. 

I believe the time will come very soon 
when Japanese people will awaken and will 
establish higher educational institutions for 
women, which will elevate woman’s position 
in Japan. 

As for hygiene institutions, there were in 
Japan over 1,000 hospitals, 43,000 doctors, 
3,000 dentists, 6,000 pharmaceutists in 1913, 
not including any charitable institutions, 
The Japanese Red Cross Society, established 
forty years ago, has its hospitals and train¬ 
ing schools for nurses in every one of the 
fifty-two prefectures and several hygienic 
laboratories. 

So the field of the foreign missionary work 
is limited to the spiritual side. Unless they 
are men of highest character and ability as 
well as profound knowledge, they will have 
little work to do. 

There is nothing more important in Japan 
than the spiritual awakening of her people. 
Since Japan opened her gate to the Western 
civilization, she has been so busy in import¬ 
ing its material civilizations, its administra¬ 
tions, its educational and military systems, 
that she could not notice there is a great 
spiritual foundation called Christianity. 
They even forget that their own civilization 
had been built on Buddhism and Confucian¬ 
ism. But, can we take these two old spirit¬ 
ual bottles for the new wine of civilization? 
No, it is Christianity only that can save the 
spirit of the Japanese people. 

Christians in Japan, both American and 
Japanese, both missionaries and laymen, 
should make twice or three times the effort 
in propagating Christianity. I was much 
moved by Dr. Speer’s preaching in the First 
Prebvterian Church in Englewood last No¬ 
vember, showing that the corruption of Rus¬ 
sia was not caused by German tricks, but by 
the misinterpretation of American democ- 


16 




racy. Things American, good and bad 
(gyokuseki konko) are rushing into Japan. 
Are not Japanese people misinterpreting the 
American democracy? It is impossible that 
American democracy stands without Chris¬ 
tianity. Democracy without the self-awak¬ 
ening of the nations—in other words, democ¬ 
racy without Christianity—is the menace to 
every country. The world democracy is the 
goal the present humanity is striving to 
attain. The democratic movement is be¬ 
coming greater year after year. The greater 
the movement becomes, the greater the re¬ 
sponsibility of the Christians in Japan. 

Last summer we had a rice riot in Japan 
—the first economic and social disturbances 
in our country. The social and economic 
unrest is universal all over the world to-day. 
But the unrest is greater in Japan than in 
any other country, because the people lack 
the calm and resigned spirit. Spiritual 
awakening in Japan is as much as, or more 
important than the social and economic re¬ 
construction. 

Every difficult problem Japan of to-day is 
facing, is sure to be solved by Christianity 
as in other countries. 

Japan needs the best American Christian 
workers who help and encourage the 1,600 
Japanese Christian preachers. Japanese 
Christians want to hear the preaching of 
the best American missionaries. We need 
not any inexperienced young missionaries 
who are just graduated from the religious 
schools. I hope the American missions of 
every denomination will send a few first- 
class preachers instead of hundreds of ordi¬ 
nary missionaries. 

We want the missionaries from this coun¬ 
try only of high character and personality— 
men whose presence is preaching itself. 
When they preach, they can get excellent 
interpreters. To master the Japanese lan¬ 
guage is not the first importance to be a 
missionary to Japan to-day. Preaching 
through a good interpreter is more impres¬ 
sive than the preaching of the American 
missionaries in the Japanese tongue. Not 


17 


only that, Japanese Christians are always 
ready to welcome the best preachers from 
this country through their own ears which 
have been prepared with the English 
language. 

We must remember that the true Bud¬ 
dhists are always good friends of the true 
Christians. 'Ihe true Buddhist homes are 
as sweet as the true Christian homes. Chris¬ 
tianity is the only religion that can save 
Japan, not because the other religion is in¬ 
ferior to Christianity, but because it is the 
old bottle for the new civilization. Person¬ 
ally 1 have Buddhist friends who are by no 
means different from my Christian friends. 

I feel it a great disgrace that most Japan¬ 
ese churches are still receiving big amounts 
of money from this country for their ex¬ 
penses. Modern Japanese churches were 
built by the kind hand of the American 
missions. We all feel thankful about it. 
1 hey were nursed and have grown up. It is 
now time that they should be standing alone. 
American missions as their nurse and edu¬ 
cator should now teach them to be inde¬ 
pendent, otherwise they will be spoiled. In 
my opinion, churches as well as individu¬ 
als can never be spiritually independent un¬ 
less financially independent. Japanese 
church workers should know that God never 
lets them lose their livelihood by doing 
right and working for Him. It is now time 
that Japanese churches get rid of their beg¬ 
garly spirit. I know that the financial help 
of the American mission is not an important 
matter for a wealthy country like this, but 
I fear the spiritual bankruptcy of the Japan¬ 
ese churches, if they continually rely upon 
foreign missions in financial matters. 

It is my earnest hope and prayer that the 
day will come when Japan will send her 
good preachers like Uchimura of Kashi- 
wagi, Azegami of Togane, and Miyagawa 
of Shinshu to this country, and also invite 
big Americans preachers like Dr. Speer, 
Fosdik and Coffin to Japan at our expense. 

In the September number of the “Seishono 
kenkvu” (Bible Study) I found a most de- 


18 


lightful article. The foreign missionaries 
in Japan, except the Congregationalists, in¬ 
vited Kanzo Uchimura to Karuizawa to hear 
his preaching. He spoke in English at the 
auditorium there, before 400 foreign mission¬ 
aries, mostly American, on the subjects, 
“Bible Teaching in Japan, Emphasizing the 
Second Coming of Christ” and “Forty Years 
of Christian Belief, Emphasizing the Second 
Coming of Christ.” 

It is great encouragement for every Chris¬ 
tian worker to hear his preaching. He has 
devoted his life entirely to Bible study, with 
the comment of Nature and his own experi¬ 
ence as a Christian fighter. He is entirely 
independent both spiritually and economi¬ 
cally ; in other words, entirely dependent 
upon the Father and the Son. 

There is one more interesting phenomenon 
in Japan this year. While so many graduates 
of mission schools are entering business, 
thinking that it is wiser to be a millionaire 
than to be an evangelist, several “hohga- 
kushi” (graduates of the College of Law of 
the Imperial University) started the Lay¬ 
man’s Mission movement last May. The 
promoters are Tamon Mayeda, Kiyoshi 
Kanai, Takeshi Fujii, T. Ishikawa and sev¬ 
eral other young men. This movement is 
attracting much attention among the intel¬ 
lectual circle of Japan, doing more effective 
work than the ordinary missionaries. 

The above two events are, I think, the 
dawn of a new Christian movement in 
Japan. 

In closing this chapter, I like to hope 
that Japanese Christian workers, especially 
churches, will forever maintain their atti¬ 
tude of standing aloof from worldly affairs. 
We, Christians, must always point out the 
defect of the country and society, and try 
to elevate them to the higher end from the 
spiritual point of view. 

When Buddhism first entered Japan some 
dozen centuries ago, there was great oppo¬ 
sition toward it. The Buddhists were per¬ 
secuted. But the Buddhists at that time 
were strong in faith and pure in their living. 


19 


When the Buddhist won, and all the Im¬ 
perial family converted, and some of them 
called themselves “We are the slaves of the 
'sambo’ ” (Buddha, Creed, and Priest), the 
degeneration of the religion began. 

Whenever the religion united with the po¬ 
litical power, it was the beginning of cor¬ 
ruption. 

Heaven forbid that Japanese Christian 
churches ever help their government at the 
time of any war. Let our churches be al¬ 
ways the alarm bell of the spirit of the na¬ 
tion. Religion has its power, its authority, 
its mission as long as it is the “Bokutaku” 
(Spiritual Leader of the world). 


APPENDIX TO CHAPTER III 

While I am writing this chapter, I begin 
to feel guilty for not having introduced 
three great friends of Japan among the for¬ 
eign missionaries. 

1. Dr. Bachelor: English, Episcopalian, 
who has devoted his life in mission work 
among the Ainu tribes in Hokkaido, and 
compiled the Ainu-English and English- 
Ainu Dictionary, which is the only diction¬ 
ary of that language, while we, Japanese 
have no Ainu-Japanese Dictionary. He is 
still in Hokkaido, is loved by Ainues as 
their father. He is, I think, over four score 
years old. 

2. Dr. Raguet: Belgian, Roman Catholic, 
who translated the New Testament directly 
from Greek into Japanese absolutely inde¬ 
pendently and compiled the French-Japanese 
Dictionary, which is one of the best French 
dictionaries in Japan. All the inhabitants 
of one village in Nagasaki prefecture are 
Catholic by his influence. 

3. Bishop Nicholai: Russian, Greek Or¬ 
thodox, who came to Hakodate at the age of 
20, spent over half a century on Japanese 
soil, impressed the Japanese people with 
what the real Christian is. Refusing the 
advice of his friend to go back to Russia 
at the time of the Russo-Japanese War, he 
quietly continued the work of translating 


20 



the Psalms into Japanese. His property 
consisted of several cents of copper and two 
old garments, at the time of his death. 


CHAPTER IV. 

JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS 

There are 180,000 Japanese immigrants on 
the Pacific Coast and the Sandwich Islands. 
Most of them come from Yamaguchi, Hiro¬ 
shima and Wakayama, which are far from 
being the intellectual parts of their country. 
They know how to work in the fields, but 
few of them had seen the big cities where 
young Japanese are enjoying the books of 
Tolstoi, Dostojewski, Isben, Maeterlinck, 
and Bernard Shaw’s plays. They remember 
their province where customs and traditions 
of several centuries ago still prevail and be¬ 
lieve that elsewhere in Japan similar condi¬ 
tions are found. Even we Japanese, while 
traveling in California cannot help being 
surprised and feeling sorry to find often 
uncultured brethren. What they report 
to their families and friends in Japan with 
much exaggeration is the material and im¬ 
moral side of the United States, which Japan 
has already imported within fifty years, and 
which to all Japanese in the cities and in¬ 
dustrial towns is quite familiar. I know 
Japanese immigrants in the Western States 
are improving rapidly both in their econom¬ 
ical and social conditions as well as in spirit 
and culture. But they are far from modern 
ideas; what they regard as new things were, 
as a matter of fact, imported in Japan years 
ago. 

Many people in the United States think 
those immigrants are typical Japanese and 
class all Japanese lower than uneducated 
and vulgar Italian and Russian laborers. 
American people, contrary to the idea of 
Christianity, do not treat Japanese as well 
as they treat Americans; in fact, not even 
as well as Italians or Russians. I believe 
it is really prejudice if American people 
think they are inferior to Italians and Rus- 


21 



sians. 1 once met an American who told me, 
as his great discovery, that the Japanese are 
bright people, a little brighter than colored 
people to whom liberty was nominally given 
and among whom lynching is still practised 
when they steal the chicken of the White 
men. 

Let me describe Japanese imimgrants a 
little more. 

Japan is a country of sixty million in pop¬ 
ulation, but its area is only as large as Mon¬ 
tana, one state of this country. Japan is 
densely populated by 400 to each square 
mile while the state of this country is pop¬ 
ulated 10 to 40 to each square mile. The 
increase of population is one of the most 
pressing problems that Japan is meeting just 
at present. I believe that God has made 
this world equal for all humanity, and it is 
quite unfair that this country objects .to 
immigration from Eastern countries, which 
are densely populated. I say so not from the 
selfish standpoint of a Japanese but from 
that of a Christian. I admit that Japanese 
immigrants to this country are mostly the 
uneducated class in our country, but I don’t 
believe they are more so than Italian, Rus¬ 
sian or Irish immigrants. 

Apart from the religious standpoint, Japan 
wants fair treatment for her immigrants for 
the reason of her honor. What Japan claims 
is not unlimited immigration from her coun¬ 
try. Our immigrants will never flow into 
this country even though there were no 
“Gentlemen’s Agreements,” as they are so 
anxious to get back to their homeland. Ac¬ 
cording to the agreement, Japan acted gen¬ 
tlemanly, but America does not act as a 
Christian in this case. 

We protest against the unfair racial dis¬ 
crimination of a certain district. We never 
protest if all races are under same restric¬ 
tions. It is now a matter of national honor 
and nothing else. 

One reason, I think, this country objects 
to Japanese immigration is that they do not 
assimilate thoroughly. They stick to the 
old customs and traditions of their country 


22 


and they do not spend the money they earn 
in this country but send it to their home or 
save it to live on the remainder of their lives, 
not in this country but in their beloved old 
home. Italian, Russian or Irish immigrants 
do not wish to return to their old home as 
they are entirely enjoying living in this 
country. 

Nothing is more foolish and mistaken than 
to spread Buddhism among the Japanese 
immigrants in California and Washington. 
Japanese people should always keep in mind 
that America where they settled is a Chris¬ 
tian country, founded on the Christian prin¬ 
ciple, though many different non-Christian 
elements are now entering this country. 

Japanese, government as well as people, 
should know that the immigrants are really 
loyal to their native land only when the^ 
well assimilate the customs of the country 
where they settle, are loyal to the country 
to which they emigrate, and never think of 
coming back to Japan. It is still a custom 
of Japan that a bride dress in white mourn¬ 
ing attire and carries a short sword when 
she first enters the bridegroom’s house for 
the marriage. She wears the mourning 
dress because she has died in her old home. 
The sword is the symbol of sacrifice as a 
Cross to Christians, for the bride has always 
to prepare to kill herself whenever she is 
unable to do her duty in her new home. 
Our immigrants must remember that they 
are Japanese brides to this new continent. 

I believe this problem will be solved by 
Christianity. If they believe one God is 
ruling the whole universe and protects them 
wherever they are, they can live in any part 
of the world with contentment and never 
become homesick. I pity our own country¬ 
men who notwithstanding in this blessed 
land of flowing milk and honey and of free¬ 
dom, still love to go back to their poor 
little old country which is so densely popu¬ 
lated, and where conventionalism is re¬ 
straining human liberty. Religion is funda¬ 
mental in solving this problem just like any 
other problems in the world. 


23 


For a good example, there is one Japanese 
farm called the Christian Farm in Stockton, 
Cal., where several Japanese Christian fam¬ 
ilies work and pray. It is the best managed 
farm in that vicinity, and the people on that 
m are most respected. 



/ If the immigration problem is solved, 
many good results will follow both for this 
country and the Japanese immigrants. 

For instance, they can establish a big 
State or National Bank with a capital of 
$20,000,000 quite easily, which is approxi¬ 
mately the same amount they are sending 
v^totheir home yearly. Several years ago, 
wKen anti-Chinese question arose in Seattle, 
all Chinese residents resolved to retire from 
the place. A protest came from financial 
circles of the city, because their retirement 
would cause the bankruptcy of several 
American banks as they were the biggest 
depositors. If all Japanese on the West 
Coast accumulate their wealth where they 
earn it, and contribute to this country by 
investing it, their financial and social con¬ 
ditions will be much improved. 

The anti-Japanese problem has not arisen 
from the capitalist class or landowners class, 
but from the laborer’s side. The landown¬ 
ers like Japanese laborers better than those 
of other nationalities, for they work so faith¬ 
fully and so efficiently with low wages. Mr. 
Gompers discussed that the lowering of the 
wages is unfavorable from the standpoint 
of national economy. I quite agree with 
him. But there is no proof that Japanese 
laborers have deprived the white laborers of 
their work. Not only that, the special work 
as “picking up the grapes” and “harvesting 
the strawberries” can only be done success¬ 
fully by Japanese and not by other nation¬ 
alities. We cannot but admit that Japanese 
laborers are in this respect necessary to in¬ 
crease the wealth of this country. 

The Hearst paper, which stands for the 
laboring class and which is also pro-German, 
threatens all the people of the country with 
the words of “Yellow Peril” which William 
Hohenzollern originated. This Hearst prop- 


24 


aganda is really “White Peril” to the Japan¬ 
ese. We fear the Hearst paper, though we 
like America. 

1 will not discuss in this chapter whether 
American people are able to Americanize 
thoroughly the unlimited flowing-in of immi¬ 
grants from Italy, Russia, and Scandinavia. 
But time will come when they are obliged 
to restrict those immigrants to a certain 
limit that the land of Washington and Lin¬ 
coln may not be spoiled. 

In closing this chapter, I would like to 
emphasize that the immigration problem in 
California will be settled by religion—Chris¬ 
tianization of the Japanese immigrants and 
Christian fairness and brotherhood of the 
United States of America. 


Here I recommend two books which dis¬ 
cuss the problem from a contrary viewpoint. 
I recommend the first especially to my Jap¬ 
anese friends because much truth is in that 
anti-Japanese book. 

With much thankful thought for the au¬ 
thor’s friendship to Japan, I recommend the 
second to American readers. 

1. Montaville Flowers: The Japanese Con¬ 

quest of American Opinion. G. H. 
Doran & Co., N. Y. 

2. Sidney L. Gulik: American Democracy 

and Asiatic Citizenship. Charles 
Scribner’s Sons, N. Y. 

CHAPTER V 

JAPANESE BUSINESS MEN AND STUDENTS 

There are seven hundred young business 
men and students in the States of the At¬ 
lantic Coast. 

When Japanese students were first sent 
to this country, about thirty years ago, they 
were introduced to the best Christian peo¬ 
ple, mostly by American missionaries to 
Japan. They received very good impres¬ 
sions while they were staying in this 
country. 

When they went back to Japan they told 
their countrymen that America was an 

25 




earthly Heaven established upon Puritan 
spirits. 

The American missionaries to Japan often 
said about ten years ago, “Is not America 
the only illustration in the world of the 
universal brotherhood of men ?” The young 
Japanese naturally comes to this country 
with great expectation. 

The Japanese Government had been send¬ 
ing many students yearly mostly to Europe 
before this great War, and some of the Jap¬ 
anese nobility studied in England. 

To the ears of we Japanese, the universi¬ 
ties of Cambridge, Oxford, Bonn or Leipzig 
are more familiar than Harvard, Yale, 
Princeton or Columbia. Japanese students 
in the universities of this country, except 
those who are in the post graduate courses, 
are the students of inferior knowledge, who 
have not been able to enter the university in 
Japan and come here to get the degree of 
M.A. or A.B. We Japanese do not hold in 
high esteem those who have an American 
degree, not because the degree is empty, but 
because most Japanese who have these 
American degrees are not distinguished 
among our people. On the contrary, 1 have 
found many Chinese students in this coun¬ 
try, who are mostly sent by the Indemnity 
Fund and are brighter than any Chinese I 
ever met in China. Japanese students in 
this country are inferior both in their char¬ 
acter and knowledge to those in Japan. 
These Japanese students and the young busi¬ 
ness men sent mostly from the big firms in 
Japan, who have not a letter of introduction 
to a good American, have not only failed to 
understand this country but also misunder¬ 
stand this country. 

New York is growing as an economic cen¬ 
ter of the world and the international trade 
with Japan is becoming more prosperous. 
Many Japanese firms and banks are opening 
or enlarging their offices in this city. The 
number of Japanese men in business is in¬ 
creasing with rapid strides, especially since 
New York has started to take the place of 
London as the clearing house of the world. 


26 


One Japanese firm in New Tork has seventy 
young Japanese officers and clerks in its 
office. 

These young business men, most of them 
sent shortly after they graduate from col¬ 
lege in Japan, come to the city not only to 
exercise their ability in their work in the 
business center of the world, but also to 
expect to see the “Sweet Land of Liberty” 
about which they have read and heard, and 
to live there happily with good people, the 
descendants of the Puritans. 

What a pity it is when these people feel 
the first shock of the Jewish bargain and 
transaction, and feel so unpleasant towards 
the attitude of the New Yorkers, so-called, 
“taking advantage” or “imposing” at every 
chance. In Japan, when one makes some 
concession on his part, the other party does 
the same. When one helps the other, it is 
returned at the next occasion. This idea of 
mutual help and of mutual concession is 
generally believed morally right and put in 
practice even in the lowest class. So, when 
the mistress helps the maids in the domestic 
work, for example, the maids try to find out 
something to do for their mistress’s kind¬ 
ness. On the contrary, in this country, the 
more the mistress helps the maid from her 
kind heart, the less the maid does her work, 
taking advantage of the chance. All Jap¬ 
anese people who have homes in New York 
feel most unpleasant when the maid of this 
country takes this attitude. 

I admit that all maids are mostly foreign¬ 
ers, but as they will sooner or later become 
naturalized and form one part of American 
people, as long as this country is a melting 
pot for all nationalities, this bad habit, I 
fear, will become a part of this nationality. 

This country is a country of Christianity 
which teaches, “And whosoever shall com¬ 
pel thee to go one mile, go with him two. 
Give to them that asketh thee and from him 
that would borrow of thee turn not thou 
away.”—Matth. v. 41-42. 

America of to-day cannot be interpreted 
by the Puritan or Friends’ spirit only, but 


27 


also with the Jewish spirit. Over two mill¬ 
ion Jews are living- in this country and one 
and one-half million of them are in New 
York. I admit the contribution of the Jew¬ 
ish people to Art, Music, Science and the 
financial world. American people are proud 
of saying New York is the financial and eco¬ 
nomic center of the world. But if all Jews 
withdrew from the city, all the business 
would certainly stop, for most department 
stores, jewelry stores, restaurants, theaters, 
pawnshops, bankers and brokers are directly 
or indirectly in the hands of the Jews. It 
is no wonder that the state of business in 
this city becomes Jewish. 

New York is a semi-Christian and semi- 
Jewish city. Jewish, in this case, is material¬ 
istic—so materialistic that they not only 
misunderstand the spirit of Christ but sell 
their Rabbi. This Jewish idea in New York 
City is transforming the business of the land 
of Christian foundation. 

The transaction between this Govern¬ 
ment and the Japanese Government in re¬ 
gard to steel and shipping, proves this. The 
United States wanted to buy ships from 
Japan at $175.00 per ton, expecting a Japan¬ 
ese refusal for the low price. The Japanese 
Government wanted to sell at $375.00 per 
ton, expecting the United States to protest 
at its high price. Isn’t that a Jewish trans¬ 
action? When we compare this transaction 
between a Christian country like the United 
States and a so-called “Gentlemen’s Coun¬ 
try in the East” (Toyo no Kunshi koku) 
with Mr. Wilson’s grand declarations and 
speeches, the criticism is not favorable. 

The City of New York is not only Jewish 
but is also cosmopolitan. Only twenty per 
cent of the population is pure American; 
the rest, eighty per cent., are foreigners and 
Americans of foreign extraction. 

Japanese visitors to this country and many 
business men living in the city see the res¬ 
taurant and cabaret on Broadway. They 
enjoy its shows and plays ; the materialistic, 
egotistic and pleasure-seeking New Yorkers 
they meet. They read of how a young girl 


28 


with skates was missed and after a few 
months her body was found under the cellar 
floor of an autocycle store. They read how 
a young- and beautiful wife shot her hus¬ 
band, who was once a baseball player, and 
received the verdict of “not guilty” by mak¬ 
ing the best use of her child, etc., etc. All 
these sort of things, which are exceptional 
cases of this exceptional city, are reported to 
their country in every mail and some of them 
appear in the magazines and newspapers, as 
things happening in the United States. 
Their relatives and friends are naturally sur¬ 
prised over these extraordinary matters. 

The young Japanese people in New York 
should always keep in their mind that the 
city is not the United States. They should 
investigate the good Christian people out¬ 
side of the city ; though comparatively small 
in number, they are the backbone of the 
nation. They should not miss seeing the 
real Christian homes where the wife is keep¬ 
ing the home wisely; the mother is edu¬ 
cating their children, and the children are 
respected as the brother and sister of their 
parents under the Heavenly Father. They 
should study why most mistresses of those 
good homes have ample time for working 
for the public while they are keeoing their 
homes so nicely on the other hand. 

Since the war started the Americanization 
of Japan in a bad sense is great. I fear the 
idea of the Almighty Dollar subjugates the 
idea of honest poverty (sei hin). It is the 
responsibility of the young Japanese people 
in this country to study some superior meth¬ 
ods of the country and introduce them to 
our home land. 

Most Japanese business men come to New 
York, leaving their families in Japan, and 
live in an apartment house as a roomer with 
some familv, but thev are not treated as a 
member of a good Christian home. . They 
naturally feel very lonesome after their hard 
daily work in their downtown offices and 
naturallv seek light and low pleasures at 
night. They scarcely find the chance to be 
in touch with the warm and friendly at- 


29 


mosphere of the representative homes in 
this country. It is useless to hope that they 
will describe true conditions of America and 
its people to Japan. Besides, very few of 
them go to church, which is a channel for 
the best people of this country. It is more 
necessary to go to church than to have a 
letter of introduction, if we want to know 
the best class of American people. 

It is pitiable that the promising young 
people of Japan know only one side of this 
country; consequently, they carry back to 
Japan many mistaken views of this country. 

I wish the religious workers in New York 
would introduce good Christian homes to us 
Japanese. If the Japanese residents in this 
city can understand Christianity and Chris¬ 
tian people through good Christian homes, 
the result will be as great as the mission 
work in Japan. At the same time, I hope 
for my countrymen in New York, that hav¬ 
ing the opportunity of living in this cosmo¬ 
politan city in a Christian country, they will 
endeavor to know the good people in this 
country and to be more sociable with other 
nationalities, and not confine themselves to 
the Nippon Club just as the Germans did 
in this city before the War. 

The young educated Japanese, who gets 
mistaken impressions in New York, natu¬ 
rally reports and carries back the wrong 
views to Japan. Since Japan opened her 
country to the Occidental civilizations, the 
worship of European and American ideas 
prevails through the country. Having 
learned of the defects of the Western civ¬ 
ilization, a reaction comes to the mind of 
some Japanese. They begin to feel that 
America is quite a hypocritical country—as 
hypocritical as theirs. 

I have heard that that most beautiful story 
of George Washington who never told a lie 
even when he cut down his father’s cherry 
tree, which is so inspiring to every boy’s 
heart, was taken out of the text book, sim¬ 
ply because it is a story of another country. 
The society for the preservation of national 
characteristics did this because it stood for 


30 


anti-occidentalism or pro-orientalism and did 
not wish such a foreign example spread 
among the people. I strongly protest against 
the out-of-date views of the so-called “old 
scholar” (senkakusha) of Japan, who sticks 
to all the old ethics and ideas and opposes 
every new and foreign idea, forgetting that 
his idea is nothing more than the imported 
idea from India and China centuries ago. 

Americanization of Japan is welcomed 
only when it is with Christianity. The most 
pressing and most discussed problem in 
Japan is the democratization of Japan. But, 
as I wrote in Chapter III, 1 fear the misin¬ 
terpretation of the American democracy. 
Japan might follow the Russian example if 
she misinterprets the democracy of this 
country. The history of constitutional law 
proves that true democracy is possible only 
when the individual is awakened; in other 
words, only when each person goes to 
Christ. 

The young Japanese students and busi¬ 
ness men in this country are responsible for 
introducing the mistaken idea of the Amer¬ 
ican democracy. The fate of Japan depends 
solely upon those who live in and see actu¬ 
ally this democratic country. 


CHAPTER VI 
CONCLUSION 

I have pointed out four elements among 
the people of both nations, which ought to 
be helpful to the friendship between them 
but which are really creating misunder¬ 
standing. If we go on in this way, it will 
not only be impossible for both nations to 
understand each other thoroughly, but more 
misunderstanding will arise between us. I 
cannot but quietly think that both countries 
are responsible in creating the misunder¬ 
standing. 

While the relation between these two na¬ 
tions is such, better understanding exists be¬ 
tween Japan and Great Britain, Japan and 
Germany, Japan and France and Japan and 
Russia. 


31 



Without doubt, Great Britain is the only 
country of the world which found out the 
real strength of the Japanese Army and 
made an alliance with Japan in 1902. The 
School of Oriental Studies was established 
in London, February, 1917, with a yearly 
expense of about $70,000.00. No writer in 
the world has so minutely and mystically 
introduced the inner Japan as Lafcadio 
Hearn, who later named himself Koidzumi 
Yakumo. 

Germany established the same kind of 
school twenty years ago, to which the Jap¬ 
anese literator of Children’s Books, Mr. 
Iwaya, was first sent as its teacher of Jap-> 
anese language. It also has been spending 
$70,000.00 yearly. Mr. Gundert came from 
Germany to Japan solely for the object of 
seeing Mr. Kanzo Uchimura, our most pow r - 
erful Christian writer. He translated Mr. 
Uchimara’s books into German, rented a 
small house next to the Japanese Christian 
writer solely for the study of the Bible un¬ 
der his leadership. 

Old Japanese wooden prints “Ukiyoye” 
were first introduced to the Westerners b)^ 
an English artist, who found a scrap of the 
print thrown by the side of the Thames. 
The old Japanese print influenced the new 
French and Spanish painting in the line 
drawing in the 19th century. A French 
school of painting “Art Nouveau” had 
its origin in our Korin School of Painting. 
Several Japanese scholars were granted de¬ 
grees by the German Universities, not from 
diplomacy but by the real value of their 
essays, before they drew the attention of 
the Japanese people. These few examples 
show how Europeans have always been 
watching and studying the inner side of 
Japan and its people. 

I have met many Americans who are 
greatly interested in Japan and the Japan¬ 
ese, but very few who care to study them 
deeply, notwithstanding the fact that Amer¬ 
ican merchant ships visited Japan at the 
beginning of the 19th century and America 
is the first country that opened the gate of 


32 


Japan to the Western civilization in 1854. 

For the people of a small island country^ 
like Japan, the big continental countries like 
the United States, Russia and China are 
hard to understand, and vice versa. I find 
much similarity between China and the 
United States in their climate, their scenery, 
their modes of living, and their cooking. It 
is much easier for the American people to 
live in China just like Chinese people, than 
to live in Japan in Japanese style. Under¬ 
standing between the United States of 
America and China can be attained more 
easily than between this country and Japan./' 

Moreover, Japan is more than twenty cen¬ 
turies old, while this country is less than 
two centuries old. It is one of the most 
difficult things for both nationalities to un¬ 
derstand each other thoroughly. I think 
Europeans can understand the habit, art and 
literature of Japan better than American 
people because both Japan and Europe have 
their civilization, which has been built cen¬ 
tury after century; and as this country has 
its characteristics of new and continental, 
Japan has its characteristics of old and in¬ 
sular. The former is alive and progressive, 
but crude and rough; the latter is refined 
and conservative, but conventional and re¬ 
trospective. Most people of this country 
say Japan is very progressive, but that is so 
when she is compared with other sister 
countries in the Orient. Japan is said to be 
retrospective when compared with this 
country. 

We Japanese have tried and are still try¬ 
ing to find out the superiority of this coun¬ 
try, which we like to study, but in doing so 
we find some defects of this country which 
are impossible to the Japanese idea. 

If each country takes the superiority of 
the other, while correcting its own weak 
points, the result will surely be of great 
value to both. As the friendship between 
individuals is firm and continues as they 
find and respect some superiority of their 
companion, so is the friendship between two 
nations. 


33 


For creating mutual understanding, I 
think it urgently necessary to establish an 
institutions which may be called an Amer- 
ican-Japanese Translation Bureau in Tokyo 
and Washington to translate new essays, 
speeches, novels, poems, sermons, informa¬ 
tion and statistics of the two countries into 
their own language as thoroughly and 
quickly as possible. This institution will 
be a real tunnel under the Pacific, through 
which Japan will understand the real demo¬ 
cratic ideas of this country, and that the 
United States has something higher than 
its skyscrapers and longer than its rail¬ 
roads, so also will America learn that Japan 
has something prettier than its blossoms 
and something higher than Mt. Fuji. 

If there had been such a means of com¬ 
munication in the past, there would be no 
American who believes with jealousy that 
Japan is as equally prosperous as this coun¬ 
try owing to the war industry. There would 
be no one who would like to check the rapid 
growth of Japanese industry; and also 
there would be no Japanese statesman who 
could not understand the real war aim, and 
Mr. Wilson’s high ideals of the world’s 
democracy. There would be no states¬ 
man who would believe that diplomacy 
is nothing but treason. Our statesmen 
should believe that international ethics 
should evolve until the standard of indi¬ 
vidual ethics is attained. This institution 
should employ not only experts of the lan¬ 
guage, but also experts of science and busi¬ 
ness and art. It should publish regular 
magazines, music and literature and accept 
orders or applications for the translation of 
special subjects from individuals, companies, 
schools or missions at the actual expense. 

The relations between the two nations will 
be quite “Pacific” as long as we understand 
the other’s ideas and conditions through this 
tunnel, which will be established or or¬ 
ganized by a small sum, if it is compared 
with the money the world has spent for. the 
War even in one day. How cheap, though 
it cost a million or a billion dollars, would 


34 


it be to establish this institution if it helps 
to maintain peace between us and keep us 
out of war. 

It is my earnest hope and desire that my 
Japanese and American brothers and sisters, 
who have any interest in our friendship, will 
think this over and unite and help to or¬ 
ganize this sort of institution, before the 
two countries get into actual trouble. 

A Bohemian lawyer, who, after hearing 
my opinion, disagreed, said: “Shakespeare 
is more loved and read by Germans than by 
English people. But, the more the Germans 
like Shakespeare, the more they hate the 
English people. So, I think the more the 
American or the Japanese know each other, 
the less one will like the other. ,, There I 
found, I did not tell the lawyer, the most im¬ 
portant premise. 

War will never end war. 

History proves that war is often the\ 
cause of another war, even between the peo¬ 
ple who have fought shoulder to shoulder 
against the common enemy. Who can tell 
that this war is the lasr war in human his¬ 
tory? Who can tell that Japan will not 
fight because she is not rich enough +o fight? 
War is destructive. War is not a business. 
No nation calculates the profit or loss before 
they start a war. It is hatred that is the 
cause of war. A nation fights pledging her 
country. 

I said the tunnels under the Pacific-—the 
understanding between the two countries— 
will always keep the ocean peaceful. But, 

I must not forget the most important pre¬ 
mise, this time. 

Americans as well as Japanese should bey 
more Christianized. The only way to gain 
eternal peace is that all humanity go to 
Christ, with a most humble mind. 


3S 


“And why beholdest thou the mote 
that is in thy brother’s eye, but con- 
siderest not the beam that is in thy 
own eye? Or how wilt thou say to 
thy brother, Let me cast out the mote 
out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is 
in thine own eye? Thou hypocrites, 
cast out the beam first out of thy own 
eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to 
cast out the mote out of thy brother’s 
eye.”—Matt, vii, 3-5. 


36 






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